


The Secret Society

by ihadnotyetlived



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, It's very vague, Jack's just a sweetheart and basically a puppy aww, M/M, Modern times, Psychological Torture, She's also kind of cold, Slow burn ish?, Violence, blood tw, kath is a badass, kind of a spy/detective au, kind of sad, like all of my fics, these kids will do anything for each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-06-22 22:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15592179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihadnotyetlived/pseuds/ihadnotyetlived
Summary: Katherine is a detective for the Brooklyn Secret Society and to make it clear, she always works alone. That is until, a handsome new recruit makes an appearance and they're partnered up for a missing persons case. Through working with him, she learns the importance of friendship, love and partnership as they work to solve the case. But they soon realize that this case is a lot tougher than it looks.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Let's see how this goes! I had an idea for it and thought might as well

“We need to break her. Make her hurt.” the man said looking at his table of colleagues. “Right now, she’s too tough for someone her age. She’s 17 and yet one of the best on the force. If we want to keep this city under our thumbs, we need to make sure she can’t come back. Now I don’t mean killing her,” He clarified upon hearing some of the men pipe up. “That wouldn’t do anything but upset the balance. She’s cold. She’s lonely. What we need to do is let her make friends and maybe more. Then we take them away from her, and she’s broken.”

“She’s smart, she doesn’t want to make herself vulnerable. But soon, gentlemen, she’ll do exactly that.”

“Now look at this here.” He said pointing to the projector. “Here we see a photo of a young boy. Anthony Higgins. Stats show that he often goes to the racetracks in Brooklyn, usually alone.” 

“What’s this have to do with anything?” A colleague asked.

“I’m getting there,” he said changing the image on the screen. “This boy here. Jack Kelly. He has the information we need, gentlemen. He stopped working here about two months ago because he felt we treated him unfairly.”

“Now, I want you to employ him in the Brooklyn department and pair him up with her. Understand?” The colleague nodded his head in understanding.

“The two will work together on a long case, one that will make them closer. Maybe he could provide her with some ‘company’ and make her closer with his gutter rat friends.”

Another colleague raised his hand. “What case would possibly be long enough for that?”   
“Glad you asked.” He said chuckling. “A missing persons case. Anthony is close to Jack Kelly so this search will be more emotionally inclined for him. It should make it easier for him to give in once they think they’ve cracked the case. Then we take him and the information he knows before discarding him all together. Then we leave her alone and a failure. The guilt will eat her up on the inside and she’ll never work the same again.”

He let that hang in the air for a few moments. “Dismissed.”


	2. The Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Sorry it took so long!

She had been in the shower when she got the call. A missing kid. He was about 15, blonde hair, and always had a cigar in his mouth. Katherine took note of this as she got dressed waiting for his image to come through her messages. Normal clothes. Most people expected detective spies to wear spy like clothing, but then everyone would know they were spies. 

The image finally loaded and Katherine a good look at the kid. She was certain she knew him from somewhere but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Anthony Higgins. 

She gathered all her stuff and headed out the door. “You going somewhere?” Shit.

“Hi, daddy.” She said sweetly. He didn’t buy it. Her father was the big boss of the Manhattan Secret Society. He’d thrown a fit when Katherine wouldn’t work for him and worked with Brooklyn instead. She’d found the Manhattan Society to be too corrupt for her liking.

“Leaving the house without my permission? You know how dangerous that is?” Pulitzer said. “It better not me one of those missions. We made an agreement and you quit a year ago.” No she didn’t. 

“Yeah I know.”

“Then where are you going?” He said forcefully.

“Out.” Pulitzer raised his eyebrows. “Shopping.” Katherine said rolling her eyes. She played the part of a spoiled girl well. With a nod, he let her go, and she climbed into her all black benz. Stealthy. She pulled out of her driveway and drove to the Brooklyn Secret Society.

As she climbed out her car, she saw her lifelong friend Bill walking towards her, arms open. “Katherine! There’s my girl! Did you make it okay?” Smelling his bitter cologne, Katherine gave a tight smile in response and they walked inside. 

“Well, Kathy your partner is here and he happens to know the kid who went missing.”

Katherine’s eyes widened in shock. “Wait, wait, wait. Partner? Bill, you know I work alone.”

Bill rolled his eyes. “Yeah with petty thievery, but this is a missing person Kathy.” He scanned his ID and they entered through the lobby doors. 

“I work alone.”

“As your boss, I say no you don’t.” The inside of the building looked like a normal police station. This is where people went to complain about silly things, or to report a crime. A few people were here right now. Behind the doors however, was a large training facility, where they went through the most rigorous training. Even more so than normal police officers. 

Bill pulled her aside. “Kathy, listen to me. You just turned 17. The youngest on the force. I know, I know you’ve seen some shit and I know you think you’re old enough to handle everything on your own, but you’re not. I can’t even handle everything on my own. Kathy, it’s okay to have help. It doesn’t make you weak. The fact that you can put trust into another person makes you stronger. Do you understand?”

Katherine nodded although she really didn’t care. Bill smiled and ushered her over to a kid about her age sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. He looked like he was daydreaming. He wore a blue shirt and had pen notes and doodles all over his hands and arms. “Good morning.” Katherine said. The kid jumped out of his daydream and mumbled back. Katherine already didn’t like him. “I’m Katherine Plumber, and I hear we’re going to be partners for this case?” 

He mumbled again before he cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Hi. Hi! I’m uh, Jack Kelly…” His eyes went soft as he looked at Katherine.

“Mr. Kelly.”

“Oh! Oh yeah sorry I uh…” He stuck out his hand for her to shake and she reluctantly shook it. “I’m under a lot of stress righ’ now I guess. Racetrack, my brother he’s missin’. And man I don’-” 

“Wait.” Katherine said holding her hand out. “Racetrack?”

“Oh, sorry. Race he-”

“Who?”

Jack blinked. “Anthony. Racetrack ‘s a nickname we gave ‘em.”

“We?” Katherine was honestly confused. 

“Yeah. We all live in a group home.”

“Where?”

“Lower Manhattan. You ask a lot of questions.”

“Well, I’m a detective. It’s my job.” Katherine said rolling her eyes.

“Righ’. Uh, should we talk business now?”

Katherine glared at Jack, looking him up and down trying to make sense of him before walking towards the door. “Follow me, Mr. Kelly.” She said. She led him through the maze of the back building, scanning her ID every time she reached a door. Finally they entered the large training room.

“Woah. This is sick.” Katherine frowned at that before leading him over to a table displaying guns.

“Have you ever fired one of these?” She asked. 

“Nah.” He answered, not offering any more of an explanation.

Sighing, Katherine loaded the gun with fake bullets and handed it over to Jack. He stared at it a moment before taking it out of her hand and weighing it in his. They turned towards the human shaped target that was color coded on the best areas to aim for in danger.

“Aim at the target, Mr. Kelly and fire the gun.” Katherine said. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger. It fired loudly, and Katherine watched him flinch.

“Damn,” he said. “That’s loud.” 

“You missed. Try again.” He raised the gun again and pulled the trigger. This time he miraculously hit the chest of the target. Katherine raised her eyes in surprise. Before moving on. “Here,” she said handing him a gun, a taser, pepper spray and other essentials needed to fight crime. “Can you fight?” She asked.

“I’ve had to fight for a livin’. That’s the only way a kid like me could make it this far.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, let’s see then,” She said, curling her hands into a fist. Jack followed suit. 

Katherine had to admit he looked kind of sexy when he fought. He must’ve been out of practice though because when he swung at her with his right arm, she noticed his horrible form. He swung from out wide and she was easily able to block it. She was shocked when he landed the punch with his left hand. He swung again, and Katherine stopped his hand, grabbed his wrist, and flipped him over her shoulder. 

“Ow! Okay Plumber, you win!” He said from the ground. Katherine was disappointed in her new partner.

“Okay well then, get your things and we’re going to start this case. Tell me everything in the car.” They walked to her car in silence, Katherine wondering how she ended up in this situation. Once they were safely locked in the car and Katherine began to drive Jack began to speak.

“Well, he went missin’ early this mornin’. He went down to the racetracks in Brooklyn. Nothin’ unusual.”

“Does he go alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Then that’s our lead. We head down to the Brooklyn tracks, and gather evidence and witnesses. Sound good?” She didn’t wait for his response before turning in the direction of the Brooklyn Racetracks. 

“So, Plumber. How long you’ve been working here?”

“About a year and a half.”

“A year and a half?! And they’re givin’ you a case like this?”

“Mr. Kelly, today’s your first day on the job and we’re on the same case.”

“Well, true. But I used to work at the Manhattan base since I was nine. Doin’ odd jobs for the big fellas at the top. They had no trouble sending a little gutter rat on dangerous missions because who cares if he died?”

“You’ve lasted this long, and you’ve never even fired a gun?” Katherine asked. She had had to kill plenty of people in her year and a half of work. 

“I can’t,” He said before abruptly changing the subject. “Uh I live in a home with kids like me. Kids who the big Manhattan fellas use as scapegoats and bait. Well, those of us who’s still livin’ anyways. We got three new ones, all siblings. Two of them are twins, Sarah and Davey. They’s about our age. The third one is nine. My age when I first started. He’s so young and innocent. I just don’t want him to go through what I have, you know?” 

Katherine nodded, because she did know. She’d heard about the stories of kids killed in fiery explosions or intense gunfire, but she’d never given it a second thought until now. She quietly chided herself. 

“Part of me thinks that it’s just better to let ‘im go, because there ain’t nothing for ‘im here and that’s what he wanted. He always told me ‘I’m tired of this place, Jackie. We’s all gonna die soon anyways, what’s the point?’ But he has people who care about ‘im. Once we save ‘im we can make everything better and live how we wanna live for the first time.” He wiped a few tears from his face before mumbling a small “sorry.” Katherine didn’t answer him, she just continued driving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and Comments are appreciated!


	3. The Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for mentions of csa, blood guns, knives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a fat minute!! Anyways hope you enjoy

They arrived at the Brooklyn Racetracks not too long after they started driving. Nothing was going on at the moment, there were only a few people huddled around one of the tables in the lower part of the stands. 

“Ready?” Katherine asked turning to Jack. She was shocked to see him frozen in place. “Mr. Kelly?” She asked softly. 

“I know that man. That one, in the grey suit.” Katherine narrowed her eyes in confusion. “He works in the children’s unit of the Manhattan society. Snyder the Spider is what we all called ‘im. He’s a vile man. A real asshole. Always had his hands on us.” Jack shuddered. “Is...is it okay if I stay in the car?” Katherine wanted to yell at him, to tell him to get his shit together, but when she turned to look at him, she couldn’t do it. He looked absolutely broken, terrified of that man. She wasn’t that cold hearted. She gave a small nod and stepped out of the car.

She strode boldy over to the table of men and cleared her throat. They all turned. “Hello, I’m Katherine Plumber of the Brooklyn Society.” She said flashing her badge. “I’m here to question you about a missing person’s case.” 

“Alright, ask away little lady.” The man Snyder said looking her up and down. Katherine ignored him. 

“Have you seen Anthony Higgins in the time span of last night and now?” She asked pulling up his photo. 

“Why? What’s it to ya?” One man asked. 

“Sir, this is a missing person’s case. It’s my duty to identify witnesses,” She explained. The men circled around her. “Have you seen Anthony Higgins?” She asked forcefully. 

“That little shit,” Snyder said blowing smoke into her face. “Shoulda screwed him harder when I had the chance. But you might be a good option too, little lady.” He sneered. Katherine inhaled sharply and placed her hand on her gun. This man was clearly dangerous.

“Thank you for your time,” Katherine said noting that all the men were armed. She knew it would be safer to leave than to escalate the situation. But she had to get an answer out of them somehow. Her mind began to move rapidly as she attempted to back away. She ran into a man who grabbed her by the shoulders. His grip was too tight. Katherine couldn’t break free, so she did what she had do do.

She reared her elbow back and hit him hard. He doubled over in pain which gave her enough time to draw her gun. Unfortunately the others did the same. One against four-five if she hadn’t hit that man in the nuts-she was clearly outnumbered. Her heart rate sped up as she backed away, her eyes trained on the men. 

“Go!” The man on the ground yelled. The four men closed in on Katherine. She wouldn’t give up, she fought back. Snyder took his fist and punched her in the gut. All the air left her as she fell to her knees, scraping them in the process. One of the other men took a knife and pressed the blade against her throat, drawing blood. Katherine winced at the sting. Snyder took his gun and pressed it against her temple. The safety clicked off and Katherine heard a gunshot. 

“Get away from her!” All turned to see Jack Kelly with his gun pointed to the sky. He moved and trained the gun on Snyder, hands shaking. “Jack Kelly of the Brooklyn Society,” He introduced himself. “Step away from our officer!” 

 

The men chuckled but complied. Katherine pushed herself to her feet. “Alright, boy.” Snyder said causing Jack to recoil. Snyder blew more smoke into Katherine’s face. “Good luck finding that shit. Hope he’s not dead by the time you get there.” Katherine put her hand on Jack’s shoulder, seeing he wanted to react, make Snyder regret his words. But they couldn’t afford that right now. 

Jack kept his gun pointed until they were out of sight. Only then he let it drop to the ground. “Thank you, Mr. Kelly.” Katherine said quietly. “You saved my life. That was very brave of you.” Jack snorted. 

“Just doin’ my job, ya know.” 

“Sucks we didn’t get any information,” Katherine said changing the subject. 

“Well, if it helps I recognized two of the other guys.”

Katherine perked up. “Who, Mr. Kelly?”

“Morris and Oscar Delancey.” He growled. Katherine pulled out her phone and searched their names. They were felons, had several DUI’s, and appeared to have gone off the map for a while. They currently reside just a little ways outside the city, in what appeared to be a backroad type area.

“This is our lead,” Katherine said. “We go to their house and I’m certain we’ll find a clue on Anthony.” She made eye contact with Jacks, her eyes shining with determination. They hopped into her car and sped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are appreciated!


End file.
